Growing up, we used to get butter with jam on it, or more common, butter with sugared cinnamon on our bread or toast.

I've heard of the 'spread to prevent moisture leeching into the bread" thing.

I grew up with Kraft's Mayo, and could not stand the taste. Still don't, but when other brands finally became available in our area, I had to admit to my husband that I liked the other brands taste. But I still tend away from mayo, and am staunchly in favor of mustard, almost any kind of it, even the yellow stuff. We do have a wasabi mustard that is really good.

Miracle Whip was developed by Kraft in the 1930s, as a less expensive alternative to mayo. It was also marketed as a stand-alone salad dressing. It got its name from a fancy emulsifying machine.

The primary difference between Miracle Whip & commercial mayo is that MW contains sugar and corn syrup, vinegar, and other flavorings to make it sweet & tangy. (Right now, Kraft is advertising it as "sweet and loud.") Both contain eggs and oil, usually soybean, but may has a higher amount of eggs.

In the US, Miracle Whip vs. mayo arguments can reach the proportions of Marmite vs. Vegemite.

Growing up, we put margarine (vile stuff, don't touch it now!) and mayo on the bread before putting the meat on it. We got a lot of ribbing for that. Now I only use mustard, to save calories/fat.

I was raised in the upper midwest, but my parents are English Canadian. Could that be why we were different from the people around us?

I don't think so - mayo isn't that common in my circles and I live near where your parents are from, I think. Margarine was common - butter used to be much more expensive, comparatively, than margarine.

For the longest time, my parents bought smuggled margarine. Smuggled in from Quebec. In Ontario, it couldn't be 'butter' coloured; it had to be left white or coloured really darkly. But Quebec didn't have those laws. And since we were often in the Ottawa valley, visiting family, we'd load up and freeze it.

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After cleaning out my Dad's house, I have this advice: If you haven't used it in a year, throw it out!!!!.

My mom always buttered her sandwiches but once I hit my pre-teen years I let her know I didn't want butter on it. My sole exception is buttering the outside of grilled cheese sandwiches for grilling.

As for Miracle Whip, Mom used that on coleslaw rather than mayonnaise. I preferred the vinegary tang of it in the salad but now I don't use it since I don't particularly like either of those two in coleslaw. Too sweet for my taste.

I always did while growing up. After I moved away from home I don't always actually have butter in the house, so not any longer. I still think with butter is more luxurious though

Only a thin layer though - we have a concept in Denmark of "tooth butter" (=so thick a layer you can see tooth marks after taking a bite), and I find that utterly disgusting. Fortunately it's falling out of favour, but whenever my in-laws serve sandwiches I have to find a way to subtly remove half the butter before I can stomach taking a bite.

I need to move to Denmark. I'm drooling!

I don't have butter in the house, and don't make a lot of sandwiches, but I would have no problem with adding it. I love butter.

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You are only young once. After that you have to think up some other excuse.

Butter keeps the bread from becoming soggy if you use a moist filling. (Kitchen tip from my mom)

This - have always buttered the bread first. Grew up in the Pacific Northwest, so maybe it's regional.

Pacific NW here too...never heard of buttering a sandwich until I opened this thread. I use mustard, the yellow kind, on everything. HATE mayo and miracle whip, and use ketchup only to dip fries in.

I use to make sandwiches as a kid (when my mom was out, it would never have passed her!) with butter and sugar and cinnamon. Occasionally toast with butter and that powdered hot cocoa mix stuff. But that's the closest I ever came and it was mostly a result of growing up in a house with no sugar. My bro was hyperactive and my mom is allergic to white flour and sugar.

My mother always buttered the bread when she made sandwiches. This is probably because, when she made sandwiches, they were intended to be eaten a few hours later. Without butter as a gasket of sorts, fresh tomato sandwiches would soon become pitiful, little inedible pink lumps.

We don't butter the bread when we make sandwiches. Depending on the filling, we do spread mayonnaise, mustard or ketchup on the bread.

Seems pretty normal to me. I always do it. I admit, I'm kind of a butter fanatic, but growing up, this was how it was always done--not just within my family, but with church potlucks and funerals and neighborhood gatherings.

Canadian Family does - and they largely kept the butter they were using in a covered container in the pantry.*

Texas Family does not butter is kept in the refrigerator and is not very spreadable unless put out ahead of time to soften. Mom (Canadian) changed her habits after moving south. In part because she was worried about the sandwich spoiling in the heat. The exception was jelly sandwiches they always had soft butter on them - but we weren't allowed them for school lunches. School lunches had mustard or were dry.

*The habit of putting butter on bread before putting filling or other spreads on bread led to Notes being posted while I visited (every 2 to 3 years) that said "DO NOT MIX PEANUT BUTTER AND BUTTER". This was after my parents had to snatch the butter way from me or get me a brand new plate of food because they realized that Uncle/Aunt/Nanna had used the same knife for butter and peanut butter just wiping it clean in between. I'm used to not being able to eat jelly at other people's house because of the wipe the knife use it again thing but butter just wasn't on my radar as a kid.